We invite you to view Employment Law This Week- a weekly rundown of the latest news in the field, brought to you by Epstein Becker Green. We look at the latest trends, important court decisions, and new developments that could impact your work. Join us every Monday for a new five-minute episode! Read the firm's press release here and subscribe for updates.

This week’s stories include ...

(1) New Guidance Issued for Pregnant Workers in NYC

New York City announces new guidance for pregnant workers. Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Human Rights Commission have released new guidance that defines pregnancy protections under the City’s Human Rights Law. The publication gives examples of accommodations that should be made by employers and outlines what an employer must prove when denying an accommodation. Nancy Gunzenhauser, from Epstein Becker Green, has more. See the extended interview here.

(2) Ninth Circuit Approves Time-Rounding Practice

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reaffirms an employer’s time-rounding practice. A call-center employee in California recently brought a class action lawsuit against his employer for time-rounding practices. The employee claims that the policy caused him to be underpaid by a total of $15 over 13 months. Relying on a California Court of Appeals precedent, the Ninth Circuit found that the company’s facially neutral rounding policy—one that rounds time both up and down—is legal under California law. The employee also argued that he was denied payment for a total of one minute when he logged into call software before he clocked in. The Ninth Circuit found that the de minimis doctrine applied in this case, because identifying a single instance in order to provide payment would create an undue burden on the employer. For more on this story, click here.

(3) Tech Company Settles Gender Discrimination Complaint

A Virginia-based tech firm settles with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on transgender discrimination. An employee of technology services company Ellucian was working on site at a college campus when she told coworkers that she planned to transition from male to female. The employee was barred from work the next day. An EEOC investigation revealed that the college had asked the company to remove the employee from campus, and Ellucian complied. The company has agreed to pay $140,000 to settle the complaint. Ellucian will also change its employee code of conduct to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.

(4) EEOC’s English Proficiency Suit Moves Forward

More from the EEOC this week: The agency can now move forward with an English proficiency suit against Wisconsin Plastics, Inc. In 2014, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against the company for firing 22 Hmong and Hispanic workers who were not proficient in English. A U.S. district court judge in Wisconsin denied a motion for summary judgment, ruling that a jury could reasonably find that the terminations were a result of national origin discrimination. While language proficiency might be required for some jobs, the judge found that Wisconsin Plastics hadn’t provided sufficient evidence that this was the case for the jobs in question.

(5) In-House Tip of the Week

Kristen O’Connor, Employment Counsel at the Marsh & McLennan Companies, shares some advice on building a strong relationship between Legal and IT.

Tune in each week for developments that may affect your business. Click here to subscribe by email - select the checkbox next to Employment Law This Week.

Trouble viewing the video? Please contact thisweek@ebglaw.com and mention whether you were at home or working within a corporate network. We'd also love your suggestions for topics and guests!

WORKFORCE (re)imagined.TM

Employers are strategically preparing for business beyond the pandemic. Stay up to date as you reimagine your workforce.

Trouble viewing the video? Please contact thisweek@ebglaw.com and mention whether you were at home or working within a corporate network. We'd also love your suggestions for topics and guests!

EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® is a registered trademark of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Prefer to Listen?

You can listen to Employment Law This Week episodes on your preferred platform, including new episodes of our special series, Employers and the New AdministrationApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher.

Spread the Word

Megaphone

Would your colleagues, professional network, or friends benefit from Diagnosing Health Care? Please share the edition each week on LinkedInFacebookYouTubeInstagram, and Twitter, and your connections can subscribe for email notifications.

Back to Series

Industries

Jump to Page

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.